The Chain (A Catherine Diary) - Stamfield. Complete

Chapter 43

43

We had reached the door, it was already open, the heavy bass beat hitting us in waves, Jack turned to me and said something, I had to read his lips to know that he had requested I stick close to him. Like I was going to go off on my own. The music was deafening, as we stepped in, there were young boys and girls seated on the floor in the hall, chatting and smoking and drinking what looked like soft drinks, but I guessed they were probably laced with something a lot stronger.

We maneuvered our way through the hall, straight into the kitchen, we passed the lounge, where a number of boys and girls were dancing. In the kitchen many were chatting and joking, it was only then my ears acclimatized to the noise and I began to hear again. There were nibbles and drinks and I saw Jack's hand reach out and grab two cans of coke. He lead me on through the throws of people, out into the back garden.

The garden was small, but being out there had diminished the volume of the music, to my obvious relief. There were a few people outside, two sitting against the wall, looking as though they were ready to throw up, the others were chatting oblivious to their friends predicament. Jack lead me to a quiet part of the garden, near the fence. There was a low wall there, that separated the lawn from a bed of dying flowers, overrun with weeds. Jack brushed some dirt away from the wall and sat down, I sat next to him.

He handed me one of the cans of coke, I thanked him.

'So, is it what you expected?', he asked.

'Not really, it's amazing what difference two years in age can make'.

'I know, although I have to say I expected it. When I used to go out with Susan, she used to throw parties like this all the time'

I may be a little naive in relationships, but I always thought it was a complete no-no to chat about your ex-girlfriends.

'Did you go out with her long? ', I asked, although I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer or was even that interested.

'Not long', he answered and I could see he had stepped into a mine field and decided to change the direction of the conversation. 'Let me ask you something, what made you run onto the football pitch naked?'

I had expected this question to arise at some point through the night and although I had run through possible answers in my head none of them made me look adhering, in fact they made me look totally foolish.

'It was a dare', I said hoping it would satisfy his curiosity, I dipped my head to my open can of cola, so I wouldn't see his reaction and took a gulp.

'It was really brave. I hadn't expected anything like that from you'

I looked up abruptly, What did he mean? What did he know about me? More to the point, what assumptions had he made about me?

'You care to elaborate on that statement', I said quite firmly.

'What statement? What did I say?', he looked unjustified and it caught me off guard. I was amused by his reaction and started to laugh, snorting the cola embarrassingly through my nose.

'What?', he asked joining in with my laughter.

Once my giggles had subsided I rephrased my question, 'you sort of indicated that you had some idea what I was like'

He gave an understanding smile. 'No....I mean yes. You see, Aiden hasn't exactly been the most quiet about his relationships, so I had a fair idea of what you were like. At least, I thought so. That was, until you came running on the pitch'.

'So what you're saying is you weren't interested in me until I streaked. Is that it?', it came out a little bit more aggressive than I had expected.

'What makes you think I'm interested now?', he was teasing me and he was wearing his annoyingly seductive grin, the one I saw when he spoke to Carla, Susan and Janet the previous day.

'Maybe I should leave then', I called his bluff, raising to my feet.

'Sit....please sit'. I sat. 'I'm not saying I'm not interested either. But you intrigue me'

So he wasn't attracted to my obvious stunning looks.

'So, because I intrigue you, you wanted to walk me home'.

'Okay, I'm not explaining this very well', I just stared at him, waiting for him to sink further into the hole he had dug, 'I never even noticed you until Aiden started going on about you and when I saw you I thought you were cute, great rack, but not my type', that had to be the sweetest thing a guy had ever said to me. 'When you ran onto that pitch yesterday, not only did I see what a great body you had, but I saw something I really liked in you. You ain't afraid to be daring, try new things. That's why I asked to walk you home'.

It just goes to show, he didn't have a clue. I was nothing like that girl who ran onto the pitch, I was shy and reserved. Although, I had to say for the first time since doing it, I actually had no regrets about it. Plus he said I had a great body, what more would a girl want.

'So, if I hadn't streaked I wouldn't be sitting here right now?'

'That's right. But you did and for that I am grateful'

I looked him in his face, looking for any tell-tail signs of a lie, he was being honest, I judged. More than I could say about me, coming to this party with him, for my own personal gain. It was time to be honest and see where the dice land.